Conference paper
THE MEDIA IN THE SERVICE OF HEALTH
Vitomir Zečević
; Beli Manastir, Croatia
Abstract
The media are certainly in the service of health - following it with their information, advice, statistics, discoveries, innovations.
There is a well-known saying that health is the greatest wealth. Being healthy and taking care of one's health is a good thing. This
article presents the media in the service of health and health care. The World Health Organization stresses that the media should
cooperate with health services in promoting health. The introduction emphasizes the growing presence and availability of media in
daily life, as well as its relevance in health education. In doing so, people of different ages, occupations and education are informed
about health and advised about healthy living. The article goes on to discuss the importance of the media in the world. The media
have various roles: information, education, instruction, and entertainment, but in doing so they must be ethical. The World Health
Organization (WHO) defines health as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the simple absence
of disease or infirmity. The article then discusses the importance of health in our lives. The mass media reaches a great number of
readers, listeners, and viewers each day with up-to-date and varied information, making them the most essential source of
information regarding health and a healthy living. They transmit information from the sender (doctors, experts, and institutions) to
the recipient - the people themselves. Health awareness strongly influences the care and treatment of individuals. There is talk of
cooperation between the media and health care institutions in the function of improving people's health. Physician-media
communication was also analyzed, contributing to better information on health and the health system. The article provides valuable
information and guidance concerning the relationship between health and the media. The article concludes with a discussion of the
media during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research is cited showing that demand for media content increased during the pandemic.
The media has a critical role to play in alerting the public about the pandemic, the disease's progress, and how to battle COVID-19.
Unfortunately, the media has had a harmful influence on human health, particularly the propagation of fear, panic, and excitement,
as well as cardiac and mental illnesses. The media inundates the public with varied facts on the proliferation of COVID-19 in
Croatia and throughout the world with daily news broadcasts.
Keywords
health; media; communication; COVID-19 pandemic; World Health Organization; Croatia
Hrčak ID:
272555
URI
Publication date:
19.10.2021.
Visits: 431 *